Immediately after the acquittal of Lady Fowlis, her step-son and prosecutor, the seventeenth Baron of Fowlis, was presented at the bar on an accusation in some respects similar, of which he also was found not guilty, by a jury, the majority of whom had sat on the preceding trial. In January, 1588-9, this gentleman being taken ill, sent a servant with his own horse, to bring to his assistance Marion M‘Ingarach, who is characterised as being ‘ane of the maist notorious and rank wichis in all this realme,’ and who, as soon as she entered the house where he lay sick, gave him three drinks of water from three stones (probably rude stone cups). After a long consultation, she declared there was no hope of recovery, unless the principal man of the patient’s house should suffer death for him; and it was determined, after some discussion, that this substitute should be George Monro, eldest son of Catharine Monro, Lady Fowlis. A plan was next devised for transferring the onus moriendi, for the present, to George; according to which, in the first place, no person was to have admittance to the house in which Hector lay, until his half-brother came; and on his arrival, the sick man, with his left hand, was to take his visitor by the right, and not to speak until spoken to by him. In conformity with these injunctions, several friends, who called to inquire for the patient, were excluded, and messengers were despatched, both to George Monro’s house and to other parts of the country, where he was thought to be engaged in the sports of the chase. Before he could be found, seven expresses had been sent after him, and five days expired. On the intelligence that his brother desired earnestly to see him, he repaired to the place, and was received in the form prescribed by the witch, Hector with his hand grasping George’s right, and abstaining from speaking until asked “how he did,” to which he replied, “the better that you have come to visit me,” and he uttered not a word more, notwithstanding his urgency to obtain an interview. The younger Monro having, in this manner, been brought fairly within the compass of the witch’s spells, she that night mustered certain of her accomplices, and having provided spades, repaired to a spot where two lairds’ lands met, and, at ‘ane after midnycht,’ digged a grave of the exact length of Hector Monro, and laid the turf of it carefully aside. They then came home, and M‘Ingarach gave her assistants instructions concerning the part that each was to perform in the remaining ceremonies. The object—namely, the preservation of Hector’s life and the death of George in his stead—being now openly stated, some of those present objected, that if the latter should be cut off suddenly, the hue and cry would be raised, and all their lives would be in danger. They therefore pressed the presiding witch not to make the sacrifice immediately, but to cause it to follow after such an interval as might obviate suspicion, which she accordingly engaged to accomplish, and warranted him to live till the 17th day of the ensuing April, at least. This being arranged to the satisfaction of the persons assembled, the sick man was laid in a pair of blankets, and carried out to the place where the grave had been prepared. The party were strictly enjoined to be silent, and only M‘Ingarrach, and Christian Neill, Hector’s foster-mother, were to utter the necessary incantations. Being come to the spot, their living burden was deposited in the grave, the turf being spread over him, and held down with staves. M‘Ingarrach stood by the side of the grave, and Neill, holding a boy, a son of Hector Leith, by the hand, ran the breadth of nine rings, then returned, and demanded, ‘which is your choice?’ Thereupon the other replied, ‘Mr. Hector, I choose you to live, and your brother George to die for you.’ This form of conjuration was twice gone through that night; and, on its completion, the sick man was lifted, carried home—not one of the company uttering a word further—and replaced in bed.

To the efficacy of this spell was attributed not only the recovery of Hector, but the death of George Monro, though the latter continued in perfect health not only for the time warranted by the witch, but for a year longer. He was taken ill in April, 1590, and died on the 3rd of June following. M‘Ingarrach was highly favoured by the gentleman who supposed he owed to her his life. As soon as his health was restored, ‘be the dewilisch moyan foirsaid,’ he carried her to the house of his uncle at Kilurmmody, where she was entertained with as much obsequious attention as if she had been his spouse, and obtained such pre-eminence in the country that no one durst offend her, though her ostensible character was only that of keeper to his sheep. Upon the information of Lady Fowlis, the protector of M‘Ingarrach was compelled to present her at Aberdeen, where she was examined before the king, and produced the stones out of which she had made the baron drink. These enchanted cups were delivered to the keeping of the justice clerk; but we are not informed as to the fate of the witch herself.

The indictment charged the prisoner that ‘ye gat yowr health be the develisch means foirsaid.’ And further, it said, ‘ye are indicted for art and part of the cruel, odious, and shameful slaughter of the said George Monro, your brother, by the enchantments and witchcrafts used upon him by you and of your devise, by speaking to him within youre bed, taking of him by the right hand, conform to the injunctions given to you by the said Marian Ingarrach, in the said month of January, 1589 years; throw the which inchantmentis he tuke ane deidlie seiknets in the moneth of Apryle, 1590 yetris, and continew and thairin until Junii thairafter, diceissit in the said moneth of Junii, being the third day of that instant!’

JAMES HARDY VAUX,
TRANSPORTED FOR PRIVATELY STEALING.

THE adventures of James Hardy Vaux are not inferior in interest to those of the renowned Guzman d’Alfarache, or Lazarillo de Tormes, and like those celebrated rogues, in order that the public may profit by his example, he has given the world a narrative of his exploits, in which philosophers may read the workings of an unprincipled conscience, the legislator may discover the effect of the existing laws upon the mind of a criminal, and by means of which the citizen may learn to detect the frauds by which he is so constantly, and, but too frequently, so successfully beset. So excellent a moral is to be derived from the memoirs of this criminal, well written as they appear to be, that we shall furnish the reader with occasional extracts from them, giving an abridgment of those portions of them which present features of less interest.

James Hardy Vaux was born at Guildford, in the county of Surrey, in the year 1782, where his father, who was a foreigner, lived in the service of a Mr. Sumner, as cook and house-steward. It appears that the mother of this unfortunate man was born of highly respectable parents, her father being a Mr. Lowe, a solicitor in London, and that her marriage with her husband took place much against the wishes of her friends. In 1785, Mr. Lowe retired from business, and going to live in the country, he took with him his little grandson, whom he treated with parental fondness; sent him to school, and gave him a liberal education, such as to qualify him for his own profession. Mrs. Vaux’s first imprudence had partially alienated the affections of her parents, and her subsequent conduct did not tend to restore their good opinion. Young Vaux, therefore, was entirely abandoned to the care of his grandfather and grandmother, and he complains that his natural parents never treated him with anything like a proper affection.

After six years’ residence in the country, Mr. Lowe was prevailed upon to live with his daughter and son-in-law, who had recently commenced the hat business at Great Turnstile, Holborn. Young Vaux, being at this time nine years old, was sent to a respectable boarding-school at Stockwell; and after three years he returned to his grandfather, who had quitted, in consequence of family disagreements, the house of his son-in-law, and then resided in one of the squares. Mrs. Lowe’s health declining, the family removed to Wisbeach, Cambridgeshire, where they continued for some time, and then returned to their original residence in Shropshire, young Vaux being now fourteen years of age. Here he became acquainted with the son of John Maultrie, Esq., a resident in the vicinity, and, on that youth’s removal to college, his father proposed to pay for Vaux to accompany him; but his indecision and obstinacy rendered the proffered kindness of no avail. The army or navy was his ambition; but, as his grandfather would not consent to his entering either of these professions, the desire was abandoned, and, after much hesitation, he was ultimately bound an apprentice to Parker and Co. linen-drapers, at Liverpool.

As this step may be called his first entrance into life, we will let him speak for himself, as his conduct in his first situation clearly indicates his character, while it forcibly reminds youth of the danger they run in yielding to the first incentives to crime. “I was now,” said Hardy Vaux, “turned of fourteen; my health and constitution good, my spirits elevated, and I felt all those pleasing sensations which naturally arise in a youthful mind, happy in conscious innocence, and flattered by the prospect of rising to honourable independence. The gaiety and bustle of this beautiful and improving borough at once charmed and amused me; I spent a week in viewing the public buildings, the environs, &c.; but, above all, my admiration was excited by the numerous and capacious docks, by which ships of large burden are admitted, as it were, into the heart of the town, and discharge their rich and varied cargoes with surprising facility, which are deposited in spacious warehouses, of amazing extent, and from twelve to fourteen stories high, with which these noble docks are nearly surrounded.

“The opportunities I had, during my residence in Liverpool, of viewing the daily arrivals and sailings of merchant ships to and from all parts of the world, particularly the Guineamen, which formed a remarkably fine class of vessels, revived the latent desire I had for a seafaring life; and I wanted but little incitement, had the smallest opportunity offered, to take French leave of my masters, and gratify my rambling propensity. However, the bustle in which I was continually involved, and the new scenes of amusement which every succeeding day presented, suppressed the inclination for a time; but that it was not totally subdued will be seen hereafter. The establishment and economy of our house were upon the most regular plan; the former consisted of six apprentices (myself among the number), and four assistants at very liberal stipends, besides, a nephew of the elder partner, who superintended the whole and officiated in the counting-house; there were also several porters and other subordinates, for all of whom full employment was found. Being the junior apprentice, it was my province to polish the counters, trim the lamps, carry out small parcels, and to perform other inferior duties; when disengaged from which, I assisted in waiting on retail customers and making myself otherwise useful behind the counter. We had a plentiful table appropriated to us, to which we retired in turn during the hours of business, commodious and airy chambers, and, in short, we enjoyed every comfort we could desire. For the first month of my probation I behaved extremely well, and by my quickness and assiduity gained the good opinion of my employers, who wrote of me in the most favourable terms to my friends in Shropshire; nor did my expenses exceed my allowance for pocket-money, which was fully adequate to every rational enjoyment.